Here is Krishnamurti, in what might be, the most powerful 1 minute and 7 second sound bite ever recorded…

Krishnamurti’s powerful message seems to touch upon something we have forgotten, and because we have forgotten it, we project our responsibility upon society, religion, medicine, industry, and everything else. We sit around, imprisoned in the busyness of our own lives, waiting for some reformer, politician, or guru to liberate us. But if Krishnamurti’s words strike a chord with you, as they have with me, it is because they ring true. They are empowering words, not because they are idealistic, but because they remind us of our only responsibility, namely to be ourselves. Since we have misplaced the experience of simple being, we must make time and exert ourselves. Otherwise, we will continue to wander around aimlessly in a vague and meaningless world, which is nothing more than a projection of our own confusion.

“For the total development of the human being, solitude as a means of cultivating sensitivity becomes a necessity.

One has to know what it means to be alone, what it is to meditate, what it is to die; and the implications of solitude, of meditation, of death, can be known only by seeking them out. These implications cannot be taught, they must be learnt.

One can indicate, but learning by what is indicated is not the experiencing of solitude or meditation. To experience what is solitude and what is meditation, one must be in in a state of inquiry; only a mind that is in a state of inquiry is capable of learning. But when inquiry is suppressed by previous knowledge, or by the authority and experience of another, then learning becomes mere imitation, and imitation causes a human being to repeat what is learnt without experiencing it.” ~from Life Ahead: On Learning and the Search for Meaning by Jiddu Krishnamurti

“Solitude is a way to defend the spirit against the murderous din of our materialism.” ~Thomas Merton

Here is a dark, but accurate video where Thomas Merton elaborates on “the murderous din of materialism.”

Elephant 365 is an example of Elephant Journal’s commitment to the Mindful Life. Everyday we will offer a new reading regarding meditation practice and the spiritual path, all infused with a fresh perspective on traditional spirituality. If you would like to follow Elephant 365 on FaceBook click here and become a fan of Elephant Meditation by clicking the “Like” tab at the top of the page.

Daily Wake-Up Call Newsletter

Get elephant's Daily Wake Up Call: a gap for inspiration & meaning in the inbox of your mind

1596893 Responseshttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.elephantjournal.com%2F2011%2F04%2Fhave-we-prostituted-ourselves-for-busyness%2FHave+We+Prostituted+Ourselves+For+Busyness%3F+2011-04-28+13%3A00%3A14Benjamin+Riggshttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.elephantjournal.com%2F%3Fp%3D159689 to “Have We Prostituted Ourselves For Busyness?”

Great post! Thank you. Here's another appropriate quote from The First and Last Freedom by J. Krishnamurti

“The problems of the world are so colossal, so very complex, that to understand and to resolve them one must approach them in a very simple and direct manner; and simplicity, directness, do not depend on outward circumstances nor on our particular prejudices and moods. As I was pointing out, the solution is not to be found through conferences, blue-prints, or through the substitution of new leaders for old, and so on. The solution obviously lies in the creator of the problem, in the creator of the mischief, of the hate and of the enormous misunderstanding that exists between human beings. The creator of this mischief, the creator of these problems, is the individual, you and I, not the world as we think of it. The world is your relationship with another. The world is not something separate from you and me; the world, society, is the relationship that we establish or seek to establish between each other.

So you and I are the problem, and not the world, because the world is a projection of ourselves and to understand the world we must understand ourselves. The world is not separate from us; we are the world, and our problems are the world’s problems. This cannot be repeated too often, because we are so sluggish in our mentality that we think the world’s problems are not our business, that they have to be resolved by the United Nations or by substituting new leaders for the old. It is a very dull mentality that thinks like that, because we are responsible for this frightful misery and confusion in the world, this ever-impending war. To transform the world, we must begin with ourselves; and what is important in beginning with ourselves is the intention. The intention must be to understand ourselves and not to leave it to others to transform themselves or to bring about a modified change through revolution, either of the left or of the right. It is important to understand that this is our responsibility, yours and mine, because, however small may be the world we live in, if we can transform ourselves, bring about a radically different point of view in our daily existence, then perhaps we shall affect the world at large, the extended relationship with others.”

I had the same reaction after seeing-hearing him speak. The passion behind the words is not evident by reading him alone. Once you understand where he is coming from and go back to his written words things become a lot more clear as well.